A second chance at life
by Sanfranciscosummer
Summary: A chance encounter with a trio of vampires sets Bella out on a path she never imagined possible. Working together with the people who mean most to her, she sets out to right wrongs made centuries ago, and save innocent people from a fate worse than death. Warning, there will swearing, violence and death in this story, it also mentions mental health issues and rape/ abuse.


A/N: Hey guys, I've had an idea in my head for a little while and I decided to write it down, not entirely sure where it's going to go but I guess we'll see. Any reviews and feedback are much appreciated thank you:') Also, I've not quite decided on pairings yet, I'm thinking Bella/ Jasper. But if there's any other characters you'd like to see her end up with, leave them in a review and I'll consider them ^^ I hope you enjoy this chapter!

As always, any characters, settings etc belong to their respective owners and no copywrite infringement is intended.

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Chapter 1.

27th July 2010.

Hearing a twig snap not far behind me I pushed my legs to move just a little bit faster, I just have to keep running. I have to try and escape. Despite my determination, I knew it was useless. I was a fragile human, a fragile human that had barely eaten or slept in months, attempting to escape from a vampire with super strength and speed. I would never make it far, that was a given. But, despite that, I carried on running as fast as I could, it was inexplicable but I had a feeling, or maybe a sensation was a better term. I just knew, that If i carried on running as far and as fast as I could something was going to help me, to save me from my hunter. I had no idea how I'd managed to keep evading her these past few months. She'd found me in forks easily enough, and then she found me in Phoenix when I tried to escape there. She trailed me at night, never risking to find me during the daylight hours. Every time I attempted to escape she was never far behind. Despite the fear and futile hope for my survival, I found my games with Victoria rather fun. As if we were two friends just playing a game of tag and the world was our play ground. If I thought of it like that, it was never as scary.

The trees were getting thicker now, making it difficult to see two feet in front of me but I pushed on, narrowly avoiding a branch that was eye level and would have knocked me on my ass if I didn't see it. I carried on running for a further minute until I could see lights in the distance. It had to be a city of some kind, or maybe someone lived here. Whatever it was, I was hoping it would save me. I ran until I came to the outskirts of a small town, a muddy river cut it off from everything else but there was a rickety wooden bridge that allowed passage inside. I quickly followed the trail and walked over the river, into what I hoped would get me away from the bloodthirsty vampire that I had following me. I stopped just inside the city limits and had a cursory look at my surroundings. On first glance it was a tiny city, barely as big as forks. The town centre had a small hospital, a bank, a few clothes shops and eateries and small railway station. Not giving up hope I walked into the train station and bought a ticket for the first train out of there which would take me to louisville Mississippi.

After waiting almost an hour the train finally entered the station and I got on board along with a few other people. It was a very small train and there were only ten carriages so I found myself sat beside three people around my age. Two guys and one girl. I noticed straight away that they weren't human. They were definitely vampires, of the human killing variety considering their eyes were red. It was just my luck to board a train, and end up in the same compartment as human drinking vampires. It was like my blood was a beacon to them, drawing them to me. I doubted I'd ever be able to get away. Maybe it would be easier for them to just drink my blood now and get it over with, I thought miserably. As the train left the station I began to panic slightly, my palms began to sweat and I could feel my heart race. Why was this happening now, admittedly I did ask to become a vampire, so I could be with Edward for the rest of my life, but I never asked for this torment. I must have done something seriously horrible in a past life I mused. The lone female vampire in the compartment gently cleared her throat.

"Are you alright there?" She asked kindly, her face showing her compassion.

"You look a little peaky and I'd be lying if I said I couldn't hear your heart racing from here." The two men shared a laugh and the woman shot them a glare, making them instantly shut up. As all vampires, they were incredibly beautiful, the woman had long thick blond hair that fell to her waist in tiny ringlets. She had clear porcelain skin and wide eyes with long thick lashes. She could rival Rosalie with her beauty. The two men were as different from each other as possible. The one closest to me, was a lanky man who looked to have been Afro Caribbean considering his skin was dark even for a vampire. He had thick black curly hair and looked to be around 5'10. Although, I was sitting down so it was hard to tell. The other man was tall and bulky, looking slightly like Emmett although his hair was blonde, he had a rather amused look on his face constantly, as though he'd just remembered a funny joke. Being around them made any self esteem I had vanish completely.

Breathing deeply and trying to get my emotions under control I tentatively answered the woman, I figured I'd let them know now that I knew what they are, I'm sure it would make it a lot easier for them in the long run.

"Yes I'm fine, thank you. Although, I've already spent the last few months running from one vampire, it's just my luck to be on a train with another three" I said quietly. The silence that followed my statement was eerie. The three vampires stared at me, as if in shock for several moments before the two men yet again burst into laughter.

"She's good" the big Emmett looking one said, a few giggles escaping him as his body shook silently from his laughter. The woman stared at me critically, as if disregarding what I had said. She must think I'm nuts, of course they're going to pretend to be human. They wouldn't just come right out and agree with me. Sighing, I pulled down the sleeve of my left arm and showed her the half crescent shaped bite mark that was a tattooed reminder of my horrific run in with James. Even the thought of him sent shivers down my spine, and a cold feeling of dread to rush my body.

She gently grabbed my arm and studied the offending wound carefully. Tracing the outline and feeling the temperature difference between it and my normal skin tone.

"That's not possible" she murmured quietly, as if to herself.

"What's not possible Ari?" One of the other vampires asked. She gently picked my arm up and showed it to them, the bite mark on full display. They both moved closer to inspect it and looked as shell shocked as the so called Ari had.

"That's a vampire bite" the big one said.

"Precisely. How is it you're still human?" Ari asked her tone conveying her curiosity. Sighing, I pulled my arm out of her grasp and and stuck my hands into my pockets.

"I'll tell you, but it's a very long story and there's other things you need to know before I can get to that part" I warned them. The three vampires nodded at me and I began my story. This would at least kill several hours of my train journey, but I was in for a rough night. All I could hope for, was that these strange vampires would help me get away from Victoria in the very least.

3 hours later.

I finished my story, explaining every touch, every conversation in explicit detail, in a futile hope that getting it all off my chest would make me feel better. It was a stupid thing to think, it didn't change a thing. The three vampires looked shocked, and rather pissed off. None of them had spoken yet as they all seemed to be lost in thought and I was rather worried about what they would say. Would they hate me for what I knew, would they hate Edward and the Cullen's for what they did me. Did they know the Cullen's? All these thoughts that raced through my mind just made me more anxious to know what they were thinking, not for the first time I wished that I had Edwards gift of mind reading, it would make this situation a lot easier for me to deal with. Sighing I closed my eyes and leant back against the seat, counting to 100 in my head. I did this three times before Ari finally spoke.

"These vampires, these Cullen's, let you into their lives, told you, and showed you all about vampires and then left you, without even a backwards glance, to protect yourself against yet another vampire who's out for your blood?" She asked incredulously. I gave a Sharp nod. That was exactly what they'd done, they'd left and were never going to come back. It still hurt to think of them, but I'd gotten over Edward awhile ago, I'd realised that our relationship wasn't healthy at all. He treated me like I was an invalid, like my thoughts and feelings were meaningless. And that wasn't how you treated someone you supposedly loved. So, I worked hard to get over him, and what he and his family had done to me. Despite that, I still missed Emmet, Rosalie and Jasper. Emmett of course because he would always be my fun loving goof of a big brother. I'd never really gotten to talk to Rosalie but there was no doubt how loyal she was to her family, and she cares fiercely for those she loved. Jasper, was someone I wished I had gotten to know better. We would have bonded over our love for books amongst other things. I never really thought he was well suited for Alice but never mentioned it, not wanting to offend anyone.

"Well, that's fucked up" one of the boys muttered.

"Also, my names Gage" The Emmett look alike said with a big grin.

"I'm enzo, and this is Ari, although I think you picked that up before" He said with a slight quirk of his lips. Smiled slightly and nodded.

"Yeah I noticed that, apparently I'm quite perceptive".

"You definitely are. Also, what are your plans when you get to Mississippi?" Ari asked me.

"I'm no entirely sure yet. I'm probably just going to keep travelling so I can get away from Victoria. She seems to find me no matter where I go." I mumbled slightly.

The three vampires shared a look.

"We're travelling to Texas to go see some old friends. They may have heard of your Cullen's. You're welcome to come with us, and if Victoria finds you, we'll deal with her easily enough." I stared at her unblinkingly for a moment. I still wasn't sure if I could trust these people. I'd never met a vampire that hadn't fucked me over and I didn't want the same thing to happen now. But, what did I have to lose? I had no friends, no family and barely any money to live on.

"Are you sure?" I asked hesitantly. The three of them nodded in unison.

"Most definitely. We're going to rent a car and drive down there when we get off the train. The drive's going to take around 8 hours at human speed, although we could probably make it there in 4 or 5" Ari said with a big grin.

"I'm in then. You won't eat me though, will you?" I asked, biting my lip. The three of them laughed whilst Gage shook his head.

"We only feed on criminals darlin' you're safe." I breathed a silent sigh of relief and nodded slightly. Looking out the window, it was just starting to get dark, the sun set casting a faint red glow in the blue sky. It was a beautiful view, one that I would remember forever. I just wished that I had a camera so I could take a picture. I'd have to buy one when I had the money. The rest of the train ride passed quickly with friendly conversation. We talked about our likes and dislikes and I found out that I had quite a lot in common with each of them. Enzo especially, he was a big lover of classic literature just like I was.

By the time we made it to Mississippi it had gotten dark, and very cold. I wrapped my coat around myself to try and stay warm but it wasn't working very well.

"Don't worry Bella, we'll be renting a car soon so you'll be warm then" Gage said patting me shoulder and almost making me fall over. He righted me and gave me an apologetic grin before taking the lead and quickly finding a rental place. After half an hour of negotiating we were finally in the car and on our way to Texas. As I fell to sleep, I finally dared to hope that something good would come of this friendship. I knew when I woke up in the morning, I'd be meeting even more vampires, and hopefully with them, I could have a new chance at life.


End file.
